50 women artists exhibit works on Incredible India

BENGALURU: The fifth edition of art show Akanksha will see 50 women artists from across the country display artworks on the theme ‘Incredible India’. Over 500 paintings will chronicle the country through various geographic, social, cultural and pop culture perspectives. The event, organised at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bengaluru, will also feature demonstrations by senior artists, art competitions and talks.

Launched in 2014 as a platform for self-taught women artists, the annual event is also a networking platform for like-minded people to share knowledge, believes Vedha Sreeram, a participating artist who works with pen art, watercolour and acrylic mediums. “This platform enables artists to take their passion for art to the next level with more confidence, and enables them to work under the guidance of seniors in the field. The exposure to a variety of mediums is tremendous and we form friendships that last a lifetime.”

The exhibition, taking place across all four galleries of the Chitrakala Parishath, was inaugurated on Saturday by art historian and UNESCO fellow Choodamani Nandagopal, writer-folklorist Sandhya Reddy, art historian Pramila Lochan and artist Shirley Mathew.

Akanksha also collaborates with teachers who guide art students. Proceeds from the show go to Art Can Care, a nonprofit that helps in rehabilitating underprivileged cancer patients. The exhibition, open to the public, will be on till June 07.

Show curator Shyamala Ramanand said that Akanksha has many artists who started out from their platform have gone on to achieve national and international repute. “There are so many artists waiting out there. Our target is to reach over 5000 artists from all over India.”